Football - known as soccer in the US - is one of the most popular sports ever created. Indeed, it's actually one of the oldest sports as well, being even older than jousting. There are accounts of football games going back as far as the year 217 (and that is not a typo!). The sport enjoys a marvelous advantage, which is that literally anyone can play it, be they rich or poor, healthy or barely mobile, old or young, talented or pretty darn useless on the pitch. 

You don't need much equipment or a specialized pitch. If you have a ball and an open space, you can get a game going. You can even handicap certain players by forbidding people over 18 to shoot at goal if there are players under age 8, or similar tactics.

Given the enormous pool of fans, it's hardly surprising that professional football is thus enormously popular. The World Cup is always the most-watched sporting event of its year, with a typical viewership of two billion. That means the top footballers are very famous, some within their countries of origin, others in the nations where they play, and still more all over the world - or at the least the football-playing world.

Which of them would you most like to be with? Whose style, team, and position on the pitch suits you? Let's find out!